South Africa will not be bullied, President Cyril Ramaphosa said Thursday (November 20, 2025) in a jab at the United States, which said it would boycott the G20 summit in Johannesburg this weekend.
Washington has also demanded that South Africa not issue the traditional joint leaders’ statement after the meeting, where around 40 countries will be represented.
Trump says U.S. to boycott G-20 in South Africa, repeats allegations about treatment of white farmers
U.S. President Donald Trump, who has clashed with South Africa over its G20 agenda and various international and domestic policies, is skipping the summit amid a wider U.S. retreat from multilateralism that has rattled global order.
“It cannot be that a country's geographical location or income or army determines who has a voice and who is spoken down to,” Mr. Ramaphosa told delegates at a curtain-raiser event in a clear reference to Washington.
